Introduction

• Breast cancer is one of the greatest women’s health problems in the world. Knowing the risk factors behind this disease is important for prevention, early detection, and helping you reach sound health choices. Some of the risk factors in breast cancer, such as age and genetics, can’t be altered but other factors — like lifestyle choices — can be managed to decrease the risk of developing breast cancer. Read on to learn the top 10 risk factors for breast cancer and gain some tips on how to stay in the know about your health.

1. Age: Major Predictor of Breast Cancer Risk

SEO Keyword: Age-based breast cancer risk factors

• The risk of developing breast cancer also increases with a woman’s age. Breast cancer can affect younger women, but most are diagnosed in those over 50. As you get older, the risk for breast cancer continues to increase after menopause. That relationship with age helps to understand the timing of regular screenings, including mammograms, which are sometimes called for more often as women grow older.

2. Family History and Genetic Predisposition

SEO Keyword: Breasts cancer genetic risk factors

• And if you have a close relative of any sort — a mother, or sister or daughter — who has had breast cancer, your own risk is considerably higher than average. Since this familial link there might be a role for inherited genetic mutations. Two of the most well known mutations associated with breast cancer come from the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These mutations put women at dramatically increased risk of breast cancer, usually at a younger age if they inherit them. Though genetic testing is not a cure, it is something invaluable. Given that some women test positive for BRCA mutations, women who test positive for BRCA mutations may aim to reduce their risk by ways such as increased surveillance, changes in lifestyle, or prophylactic surgery.

3. Breast Cancer or Breast Diseases

SEO Keyword: Personal risk factors of breast cancer

• Breast cancer survivors struggle with recurrence (returning cancer) or second breast cancer. Also, some noncancerous conditions of the breast, such as atypical hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) also increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer during her later years. Regular check ups and screening will need to be closely monitored under these conditions.

4. Larger women on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

SEO Keyword: Hormone therapy and breast cancer

• The drug hormone replacement therapy is usually prescribed for menopausal symptoms, such as a combination of estrogen and progesterone. The risk, however, is that long term HRT use raises the risk of breast cancer. HRT seems to increase the risk the longer the drug is taken, and to decrease the risk after stopping therapy. Women weighing the benefits of HRT against potential risks of treatment should consider switching to be thyroid medication. Talking with a healthcare provider about alternatives can minimize the risk of dealing with them.

5. Pregnancy During or Not at the Stage of Pregnancy

SEO Keyword: Pregnancy and breast cancer.

• Women who have their first child after the age of 30 or never have had any child, are at risk of breast cancer. It is believed that lifetime exposure to estrogen may increase its elevated risk. Reducing the number of menstrual cycles a woman experiences during early pregnancy reduces her lifetime estrogen exposure and therefore decreases breast cancer risk.

6. Reproductive and Menstrual History

SEO Keyword: Menstrual cycle: breast cancer

• Breast cancer risk can also be caused by when women start menstruating and end menstruating. An example is women who start menstruating before 12 or have menopause after 55 have increased exposure to estrogen and as such an increased risk of breast cancer. Controlling your exposure to estrogen provides effective means to reduce this risk, such as maintaining a healthy weight and exercising.

7. Alcohol Consumption: A Modifiable Risk Factor

SEO Keyword: Alcohol and risk of breast cancer

• There is nothing new about this, studies have always indicated that alcohol consumption raises your risk for breast cancer. The risk is even just from a moderate amount of alcohol intake. This likely has something to do with the fact that alcohol can increase estrogen levels and encourage the growth of hormone-sensitive breast cancers. Cutting or avoiding alcohol can substantially reduce the risk of breast cancer, particularly in women with other risk factors, including a family history of the disease.

8. Physical Inactivity and Obesity

SEO Keyword: Breast cancer and obesity risk.

• Breast cancer is a significant risk factor for obesity, in particular, after menopause. Some types of breast cancer do grow with estrogen, and it turns out that a source of estrogen is fat tissue. Even more so, physically inactive women are at risk of breast cancer. Exercise is regular and regulates hormones, allowing you to manage your weight and reduce inflammation, making you less at risk of breast cancer. Lifestyle Changes that include a healthy diet and being physically active can greatly decrease your chance of getting breast cancer.

9. Radiation Exposure During Childhood or Adolescence

SEO Keyword: Breast cancer and radiation exposure

• For instance, the risk of breast cancer during later years of life can be increased by exposure to radiation (especially to the chest area) during childhood or adolescence. It’s significant for women who’ve had radiation treatment for things like Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Most high-risk groups include those exposed to radiation when their breasts were not fully developed. If you’ve been exposed to radiation, you should continue to have regular breast screenings and talk to your healthcare provider about your risk.

10. Breast Density: A Hidden Risk Factor

SEO Keyword: Dense breast tissue and risk of cancer

• Women with dense breast tissue have a higher risk of breast cancer. More glandular and connective tissue in the breasts increases the risk that cancer will develop, and it makes it harder to find on mammograms because the tissue appears darker. Early detection can be complicated as tumors are masked by dense tissue. Women with dense breasts may need to have additional imaging tests such as ultrasounds or MRIs, to detect breast cancers early.

Signs and symptoms of breast cancer

Breast symptoms range widely and many people have no symptoms at all. While it’s important to know of common warning signs, you also need to be aware that you should notify your healthcare provider as soon as something seems off.

Some of the key symptoms include

• Lump or Thickening in the Breast or Underarm: One of the most well-known features is the existence of a variety of lumps or rough parts in a breast or underarm that feel unique from girdle tissue. You don’t know which lumps are cancerous, so you must get checked out by a healthcare professional.

• Change in Breast Size or Shape: Fluctuations in the size or shape of one or both breasts that come on suddenly may be caused by breast cancer.

• Nipple Discharge: You should see a doctor about any bloodied discharge from the nipple, or any without squeezing, as any discharge that is unusual.

• Dimpling or Puckering of the Skin: This can sometimes cause the skin over the breast to look puckered, dimpled, or like the skin of an orange peel, an indication of underlying cancer.

• Nipple Changes: Breast cancer can also be indicated by the nipple changing position or becoming inverted (turned inward).

• Breast or Nipple Pain: Most breast cancers cause no pain, but persistent breast or nipple pain – even without other symptoms – should be examined.

• Redness or Scaling: An inflammatory form of breast cancer may show up with unexplained redness, rash or scaling of the skin around or on the breast.

The Latest Tips And News Straight To Your Inbox

Join 30,000+  subscribers for explosive access to our monthly newsletter with inside Viral News, AI, Bolly, Tolly, Tech, and Future Gen And Many More tips.

Connect Now

Diagnosis and Screening

It is still the golden rule of survival with breast cancer, early detection. It’s not a choice to skip regular mammograms, clinical breast exams, or self-exams because they help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages when it is most treatable.

• Mammograms: Breast cancer can be picked up by regular mammograms long before you can feel it. Women age 50 to 74 should get mammograms every two years, though if you have higher risk factors your doctor may recommend you start younger and more often.

• Ultrasounds and MRIs: Mammograms may or may not be enough for women with dense breast tissue. The mammogram is only one part of cancer detection; additional imaging, like ultrasounds or MRIs, may give clearer results and pick up on cancers that don’t show up on a mammogram.

• Genetic Testing: If you have a family history of breast cancer, consider having genetic testing to see if you have mutations to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. If you test positive for these mutations, your doctor can develop a personal prevention plan — including more screenings or preventative surgeries.

Emotional and Mental Health

• It’s also important that you take care of your mental health, as well as the physical aspects of breast cancer.
• This can range from fear or anger to sadness or helplessness when the diagnosis occurs.
• It’s also true that talking to a counselor or joining a support group can be extremely helpful for some people during this time.
• Speaking to other people who have been through treatment or are going through it, can help you to feel less alone, and also hear about ideas and ways to cope with treatment and the side effects of treatment.

Here are some top websites that cover the topic of breast cancer risk factors:

• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – Breast Cancer Risk Factors
• National Breast Cancer Foundation – Risk Factors
• Mayo Clinic – Breast Cancer Prevention
• Indian Express – Breast Cancer Signs and Risk Factors
• Times of India – Top Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

If you have any problem related to this content or anything else related to this blog, please contact Us. link